Can a daily drink or two lead to better health? For many years, the federal government’s influential dietary guidelines implied as much, saying there was evidence that moderate drinking could lower the risk of heart disease and reduce mortality. But now a committee of scientists that is helping to update the latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is …
Alaska DBH Webinar Series – Strengthening Peer Support in Alaska
Alaskans have worked to develop Peer Support for many years. The impact of peers providing services can be transformational for a behavioral health system. We have been excited to see a recent increase in the hiring of peers in our state. Since 2017, the Division of Behavioral Health has made a concentrated effort with a diverse group of stakeholders to …
Make It the Summer of the Mocktail
Making an alcohol-free cocktail can be as simple as opening a can of bloody mary mix, but with a little more ambition, the home bartender can create tasty, refreshing and intriguing drinks. In recent years, a number of companies have introduced alcohol-free “spirits,” like Seedlip, an English brand of complex botanical and spice concoctions. From Australia, Lyre’s is a new …
15 Black Recovery Advocates and Pages to Follow on Instagram
I’ve been a sober woman and outspoken recovery advocate since I quit drinking in 2015. Though I’m Mexican, Jewish, and bisexual, the world sees me as a straight, white woman and I acknowledge my vast amount of privilege in that. I also acknowledge that my life could have taken a very different route if I had a more traditional Mexican …
The teacher who returned to the rural Alaska village where she was abused is not staying silent
A few years ago, Marie Sakar moved to the village of Chuathbaluk in Western Alaska to teach at the tiny village school. It meant returning to the place she’d been running away from for her entire adult life. Sakar grew up in the fish camp-turned-village on the banks of the Kuskokwim River, enduring years of sexual abuse. She’d left as …
COVID-19 and Child Trauma
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network published a series of COVID-19 specific resources on topics such as trauma-informed schools, tips for court professionals; child sex and labor trafficking; refugee and immigrant communities, and children with intellectual and/or developmental disability (I/DD). To access these resources and more, click here.
“Mental Health at Home” – Local Alaskan Mental Health Professionals Video Series
NAMI Juneau and the Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition present a new video series on various topics including telehealth, depression in youth, building internal and relationship security, how to help a friend with suicidal thoughts/ideation, art therapy, and distress tolerance and emotional regulation. To view the videos, click here.
How to Make Recovery Spaces More Inclusive
The day I decided to attend my first recovery meeting, a person came into my work with two growlers of beer from my favorite brewery. Her sober partner was coming home, and she figured if she left it at the office, someone would appreciate taking it home. I spent the rest of my shift staring at the amber bottles and …
How to Make Antiracist Work a Part of Your Recovery Program
George Floyd’s unjust murder at the hands of a white police officer sparked widespread, public outrage within the last few weeks. Let me start by saying that what happened to him and to Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade— and the countless others before them — was heinous and unjust. Their murders are a product of white supremacy. And it’s …